The Sexual Revolution in Napoleon's Empire: pro et contra (about the book by J. O. Boudon)
Bolt Valentina
The essay is dedicated to one of the newest works of the French historian, specialist in the history of the Revolution of 1789 and the First Empire, Jacques-Olivier Boudon, "Sex in the Empire". Noting the important institutional transformations in the field of religion, the army service and civil legislation that took place in France at the end of the XVIII — beginning of the XIX centuries, the French historian tried to trace their influence on the sexual practices of people from different strata of society by concrete examples. Using the term "sexual revolution", the author, however, does not give examples of radically new forms of behavior. He argues the validity of using such a term with data on a decrease in the number of marriages and births during this period, which, meanwhile, may well be explained by incessant military campaigns and related recruitment.
The study is sponsored by the Russian Science Foundation, grant 20-18-00113.
References:
Boudon J.-O. Le sexe sous l'Empire. Paris: La Librairie Vuibert, 2019. 358 p.